Scribble, scribble.

After signing off the final paperwork that needed approval today, Shim Deok-gu lightly organized his desk. He wore a bright smile as he finished his work for the day. 

“LMAO! Damn, this novel’s so hilarious.”

“……”

A dark shadow wiped away his smile. He could see a nuisance in front of him. A nuisance that was lying down on his office sofa, eating chips and drinking cola while reading a novel. 

The most respected player in the world, the player that everyone aspires to be like…

Deok-gu thought, ‘Is it okay for someone like him to have that honor?’ After letting out a deep sigh, he approached Jun-ho.

“What are you reading?”

“Huh? It’s a novel where the main character is a priest, but all he does is swing his sword around instead of healing.”

(TN: This is a reference to another LN by the same author, “The Healing Consul: Priest of the Sun”.)

“What a crazy-ass priest.”

Taking a seat on the sofa directly opposite him, Deok-gu tapped his Vita, holographically displaying a few documents.

“Take a look at these. They’re the stuff that you asked for.”

“Oho?”

Jun-ho’s eyes glimmered as he lowered his book. 

Flap! He closed his book and sat upright, reading the digital documents floating in front of him. 

“Damn. They’re all what I asked for! You really are good at your job.”

Deok-gu felt conflicted while watching his friend who appeared happy. 

“No need for compliments. Tell me why you needed this data instead. You’re not planning on raiding them, right?

“Of course I’m raiding them. Why would I waste time researching them if I wasn’t planning on entering?”

“What?! But…”

Deok-gu quickly skimmed through the displayed documents. They were information on all the ‘Uncleared Gates’ that people haven’t been able to clear during the last 25 years. 

“…You… you know what it means to be ‘uncleared’, right?”

“A mistake inside a Gate equals death. You think I wouldn’t know such a basic fact?”

Players that have gone inside Uncleared Gates died without even leaving behind a corpse. 

“Don’t worry. They’re still low-level, easy-ass Gates.”

“I guess they don’t even have any stars yet…”

“Stars? What are you talking about?”

Jun-ho’s question made Deok-gu exclaim, “Oh, right!”

“I forgot. This is something that became a thing while you were asleep.”

Deok-gu tried to explain it as simple and fast as possible. Stars. They were given to a Gate every time over 10,000 players died inside it. This idea started 17 years ago, and a total of 14 Gates have received stars so far. 

“Up ‘til now, there hasn’t been a Gate where more than 20,000 people have died, so 1-star is the highest rating a Gate has ever received. A total of 11 of them have been cleared so far. The remaining three Gates are called ‘the 3 Great Uncleared Gates of the World.’ 

“Wait a sec. Haven’t I cleared a few Gates with over 10k deaths before?”

While he was Specter, there were a few Gates with over 10k player casualties. They were Gates that were far more common in overpopulated countries like China and India. 

“I think I cleared 3… no, 4 of them?

“That’s right. Publicly, Specter has obtained 4 stars. Does that give you a feel for the strength of 1-star Gates?”

“Yep. So you guys call them 1-star Gates now. They were clearly different from the other Gates.”

Compared to other Gates, the boss monsters that appeared in them were on another level. The 1-star Gates that Jun-ho remembered were places like that.

“Wait, if I only have 4 stars, does that mean the Frost Queen’s Nest had no stars?”

“Of course. She never killed 10,000 people. You guys were the first challengers of the Nest,” Deok-gu said, shrugging his shoulders.

“The current 9 greatest players, aka the Nine Heavens, all have at least 1 star.”

“…What a childish nickname, calling people Heavens.” 

“Haha, are you jealous?”

“What do you mean jealous.”

Jun-ho replied with a pout. Deok-gu continued while thinking how cute his friend was.

“Anyways, you’re still just level 1. Even if they don’t have any stars, I think Uncleared Gates are too risky for you.”

“Deok-gu, have you ever heard of this saying?”

Jun-ho lifted his chin, made a cocky face, and spread his arms wide onto the sofa. 

“Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent.”

“…Are you not embarrassed saying that about yourself?”

“Nope. It’s the truth. Why should I be embarrassed?”

If he wasn’t sure he could clear it, he would have never attempted them. To Jun-ho, hunting was the one thing he was always cold and analytical about—never letting his emotions sway him.

“What are you so worried about? Besides, aren’t Uncleared Gates a pain for the association as well?”

“…That’s true, but I don’t want to send my friend somewhere dangerous.”

“Aigo*.”

(TN: Korean equivalent of Haiya.)

Jun-ho couldn’t help but let out a sigh, seeing his friend having grown old and full of worries.

“I know this is supposed to be a touching moment, but I’m going because it’s beneficial to me.”

“…Beneficial? Beneficial how?”

“The longer a Gate goes uncleared, the more EXP it gives as a reward.”

Gates that haven’t been cleared for years end up accumulating a ton of EXP.

“So what, you want to go into an Uncleared Gate just so you can level up quicker?”

“Because that’s the fastest way for me to level up.”

“Can’t you just safely grow stronger by raiding normal Gates? With your skills, your growth rate shouldn’t be slow at all.”

“Not being slow isn’t enough.”

Jun-ho looked at Deok-gu with a serious face.

“As long as the fiends are after me, time is not on my side.”

“……”

“That’s why I need to level up as fast as possible.”

He needed to become strong at least to the point that he could fight back even if his identity gets exposed.

The only people who can go up to the 2nd floor, the Frontier, are players above level 30.

Getting to level 30 as fast as possible was Jun-ho’s current goal. Having heard Jun-ho’s honest words, Deok-ku nodded with a heavy expression. 

“…I didn’t think that far. I didn’t realize you were feeling so much pressure.”

I wouldn’t call it pressure.

To be honest, he just wanted to beat up the fiends that were after him, not knowing their place. However, Jun-ho had no plans of correcting his friend who thought he became more mature. 

“Then the first Gate you could enter…”

Looking at the documents in front of him, Deok-gu’s brows frowned.

“Oh no, there’s only one Uncleared Gate for a level 1.” 

It was a monstrous Gate that swallowed up a total of 142 players since it appeared 7 years ago. Since only ‘Level 1’ players could enter, people call it the ‘Novice’s Grave’. Even the name of the Gate gave people the creeps.

“The Curse of Dawn.”

Jun-ho shrugged after reading the name of the Gate.

“The name honestly makes me think that zombies might appear.”

“There’s no way to know until you go in. The clear condition is to survive until sunrise.”

“That’s nothing.”

“You’re always too confident…”

However, Deok-gu could never blame Jun-ho, since he had the skills to back up his confidence.

Deok-gu took a card out of his coat pocket and handed it to Jun-ho. 

“Here’s your sign up bonus.”

It was the money he received by signing a contract with the Player Association. As soon as Jun-ho took the card, Deok-gu grinned super wide.

“From today on, you’ll be my underling for a year.”

“You think it’s funny? Wanna get bossed around by your underling?”

A 200 million won* signing bonus, an annual salary of 1.5 billion won*, and even additional rewards and benefits for Gate clears. Those were the terms of the contract that Seo Jun-ho signed, terms never heard of before for a newbie. 

(TN: Approx $175k / $1.3M)

“Right. For your housing, what if you resided here in the Player Association building for now? We have a residential area for association players here.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. It would guarantee my safety.”

There were over 100 players that lived in the Association building. And a magic barrier covered the entire building. Unless one was beyond batshit crazy, one could never even dream of attacking here. Jun-ho quickly made a decision after taking all the factors into account.

“I guess I’ll live here, but make sure to give me a room with a view.”

“As you wish. If you do well, I’ll even give you a whole floor.”

“I look forward to it.”

* * *

* * *

“By the way…”

Deok-gu carried over a huge box from the corner of the room. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he signaled Jun-ho with his eyes. 

“Open it up. It’s your armor.”

“Armor?”

Filled with expectation, Jun-ho opened the box right away. Inside the box, there was a leather armor set. Leather armor was always his armor of choice, so he quickly picked it up.

“…It’s light?”

 After scratching the surface of the armor with his nails, he nodded in approval.

“And it’s durable? This is way better than I expected.”

“Of course it is. It’s made by The Kwon Noya.”

“What?!”

Jun-ho’s eyes widened. Who was Kwon Noya? He was a world-class blacksmith who used to swing his hammer only for Specter. 

“That old man’s still alive? Isn’t he at least a hundred years old?”

“He turned 98 this year. He passed on his workshop to his grandson long ago, but he’s still well and alive.” 

“Damn. Well, I can’t just take this without showing my gratitude. I’ll have to go see him in person.”

He was ready to leave right away, but Deok-gu stopped him. 

“I can’t let you do that.”

“What? Why?”

“We need to be cautious of everything for your own safety.”

“…Are you doubting Kwon Noya right now?”

Jun-ho sharpened his eyes. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call Kwon Noya his first ever comrade. 

“It’s not him that I’m doubting.”

Deok-gu shook his head. His face was saying, “How could I ever doubt him?”

“It’s the eyes of the fiends and guilds that I’m cautious of.”

“…So they have eyes on the workshop.”

“It can’t be helped. It’s well-known that Specter and Kwon Noya were close. 

Now that Specter had returned, it was unavoidable for people to keep an eye on Noya’s workshop. If Jun-ho visited the workshop and met Noya, it would raise suspicions. There weren’t many people in the world that had the privilege of talking ‘face to face’ with Kwon Noya. 

“Hmm… You’re right. If a novice player went to Noya’s workshop… it’d definitely raise a few eyebrows.”

“I sent someone to explain the situation to Kwon Noya while they were purchasing the armor. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Good work.”

He was a bit disappointed he couldn’t go see him in person. Though he was a raggedy old man that complained non-stop, they shared a close bond. 

“It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to wait until I’ve leveled up a bit. Besides…”

Jun-ho looked down at his scrawny arms.

That geezer, he’s even better at giving a lecture than Deok-gu.

If he went to the old man in his current state, he couldn’t even imagine how many hours he’d talk his ear off. Smirking, Jun-ho got up from his seat. 

“Thanks for the armor. What about weapons?”

“There are quite a few useful things in the association warehouse, so feel free to use whatever you want.”

After quenching his thirst with coffee, Deok-gu asked a really important question. 

“So, when do you plan on raiding the Gate?”

“Originally, I planned on going right away, but…”

The evaluation changed his mind. 

I was so exhausted after only killing 20 dwarves.

A Gate, especially an Uncleared Gate, would be a much more difficult trial than fighting 20 dwarves. 

“I might be short on time, but I should get back in shape.”

“That’s a good plan. How long do you think it’ll take you?”

“Since I just need to meet the bare minimum requirements…”

Jun-ho gave it a thought with his eyes closed. 

“Ten days. Let’s set that as my goal.”

Time flew by in a flash.

* * *

Mount Cheonma in the city of Namyangju was just slightly shy of the safe zone. And so, 7 years ago, a Gate appeared there. 

Screech. 

A self-driving taxi stopped in Mt. Cheonma’s parking lot, which was located very close to the Gate. From the taxi, an average looking man in his mid-20s got out. 

“So this is the place.”

The man was Seo Jun-ho, who managed to gain a bit of weight in the last 10 days. He was still skinny, but his eyes had a new shine to them. 

Jun-ho stared at the 4-foot tall, blue oval in front of him. 

Gates.

Mysterious portals that were connected to unknown worlds. Riddled with traps and monsters, you could trust nothing inside a Gate. 

Only trust yourself.

And in order to ‘trust’ yourself, you needed skills to back up that faith. He knew that better than anyone else, which is why he trained his body like a madman for the last 10 days. 

It was quite difficult.

From the moment he woke up, until he fell asleep, he didn’t stop training. He only stopped to eat for nutrients. It couldn’t be helped. In order to improve his body with maximum efficiency, he had to be that rough on himself. Fortunately, the results of that hell-like training were satisfactory.

[Seo Jun-ho]

Level: 1

Title: The One Who Opens Spring

Strength: 25          Stamina: 27

Speed: 31              Magic: 18

Though he wasn’t able to raise his Magic stat, he was able to raise his Strength from 21 to 25, Stamina from 24 to 27, and his Speed from 26 to 31. 

It’s best to raise your stats as much as possible before you start growing.

That was because it became increasingly harder to increase your stats from basic training as you level up.

“Now, shall I head in?”

An empty parking lot. A parked self-driving taxi. 

“Meow.”

And a stray cat.

That was everyone that witnessed Seo Jun-ho’s entry into the Uncleared Gate, Curse of Dawn.